Two Old Friends
by snappycat
Summary: UPDATED!SSOC According to popular belief, Severus Snape has always been the foul tempered school teacher. There has been the one person who knew the other side of him. One day after a nap, he finds her in cafe and they have a talk as two old friends.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

We sit across from each other, unsure what to say to each other. I try not to stare, but I feel that I am unable to believe my eyes. There she is. Sitting right there before me. She looks as I have always seen her. Her hair has the same unruly curls, her eyes are as blue as they always were, though hardened over the years I've witnessed, her skin as dark as it had always been naturally.

"So, we're finally back together," she says, making the first vocal move, her Spanish accent is thick like cool honey. I nod with a heavy sigh.

"It definitely seems that way," I respond. More silence surrounds us. It is uncomfortably thick and impossible to swim out of. This atmosphere, as peaceful as it appears with the moon glowing admirably in the dark sky and stars twinkling like dainty pebbles under water basking in the sunlight, is itchy with the eons of history between us makes the picture's worth a fiery inferno. Adriana Usoa Rodriguez y de la Galena is this woman's name. I know her well. She knows me well. We are both equally stubborn. These reasons are why our story is somewhat worthy of this parchment. Needless to say, our life wasn't boring together. I have regrets and I'm sure Adriana has them as well. However, due to our stubbornness neither of us are likely to apologize, despite how strongly ropes of remorse tug at our guts.

"How's Rosalyn?" Adriana inquires quietly, almost shamefully. I look up, almost daring to give her the sympathy she always wanted but refused. I recall the young blonde girl that Adriana is referring to.

"Wonderfully," I answer. Adriana chews on her lip, a habit of hers I've always found irritating.

"What does she look like?" she furthers the inquiry. I'm tempted to imply that she is perfectly capable of seeing her herself, but I fight back that temptation.

"Beautiful as ever," I answer. "She's inherited her mother's curls, her father's blonde gene. She has dazzling hazel eyes, I've no idea where those came from, but that's beside the point. Her father's chiselled features, her mother's height – or lack thereof." Adriana smirks at my teasing. It is good to know we are in lukewarm waters.

"I miss her," Adriana states monotonously. I nod my understanding. She has yet to make eye contact and I've yet to dare myself to try. We stare ominously into the two separate candle flames. We watch their mystical dance as we wallow in our pool of unease, guilt, and apprehension.

I was ten years old when I met Adriana. Adriana was a skinny little girl about a head shorter than me when she moved into the house next to mine. We were both victims of domestic abuse. We only spoke together because our fathers were both followers of the Dark Lord and very well acquainted with one another. Adriana was a pureblood; as far as I knew then, but I would later find out she was actually half blood, but that is a detail for later on in the story. Her mother, Esperanza Erendira, was a woman from Mexico and of exquisite beauty. Her father, Antonio Rodriguez, was a Spanish and French mix and had his cult of female admirers, so the reason for Adriana's unconventional beauty is not one of great mystery. Adriana also had an older sister who moved from Adriana's home in Spain to somewhere in France a year before Adriana moved to the manor next to mine in London. I know very little about her older sibling, only that her name was Lupe and married someone called Christopher Lopez in Paris. I've over heard our two families talk to each other about small things like this on many occasions.

One night The Dark Lord held a meeting at Adriana's manor so our fathers were over there, and Adriana and Esperanza were in my home. Mother and hers chatted away over tea and Adriana and I sat at the table, listening to their conversation and occasionally sipping our own tea. Once in a while we glanced at each other. I couldn't help but notice half her face was bruised. Esperanza had a bruise on her cheek hastily covered with make up, as well.

"It just makes me so mad," Esperanza was saying, her thick accent portraying her agitation. "I don't mind his servitude and loyalty to the Dark Lord, but I would appreciate it if he kept it outside of our house." Mother nodded understandably, sipping her tea.

"Severus, drink your tea or put it in the kitchen," she told me softly as I fiddled with the tea bag. I sipped it and rested my head on my fist.

"It's not that I don't support him in his noble fights against the filth that are Muggles and Mudbloods polluting our air, but I just wish him to keep those things with him and at work, you know? I don't need Adriana seeing those things and getting hurt and what not before she understands what the cause is." Mother nodded again.

"At least the children have the separate houses so they don't get too involved," Mother replied.

"Would you like a ginger newt, Adriana?" she asked her kindly. Adriana looked up at my mother, not speaking. "Severus, give your friend a ginger newt." Why she called her my friend, I've no clue considering I never spoke to her unless forced to. I placed a few biscuits on the girl's saucer and she quietly thanked me and started breaking off bite size pieces off of one. She winced when she chewed.

"What happened to your pretty face, Adriana?" Mother asked. Adriana swallowed painfully, looked at her mother, and then Mother's.

"I fell," she said. It was difficult understanding her due to her accent, but her shifty glances at her mother and her mother's own shifty expression spoke volumes of the lie.

"She does that a lot, the poor dear. She's very accident prone," Esperanza said, patting her daughter's head. Mother clearly knew of the lie, as well, and looked at them sympathetically and offered more tea. Adriana and I glanced at each other, both knowing of her poor lying skills.

Hours passed as the hens gossiped and exchanged family stories. Eventually, it struck midnight and Death Eaters started Disapparating from Adriana's lawn. Mother told me to escort Adriana and Esperanza to their manor and I did so, giving them their cloaks.

"Thank you, Severus. You're turning out to be a lovely gentleman," Esperanza said, smiling warmly at me. Esperanza had warm brown eyes and a well-shaped face with dark skin and wavy black hair that fell just below her shoulders. She was curvy and made many of the neighbourhood boys swoon. She patted my head, and then she and Adriana entered their home. I sauntered back to my own.

"That woman is impossible!" Mother vented as soon as I entered through the door.

"Pardon?"

"Letting her child parade about in public with half her face bloodied! She makes a mockery of family values! The child should always be properly mended before going out! And she hardly covers her own bruises! She flaunts herself like she's perfection and has nothing to hide! No wonder she's bruised every hour of the day – can't be controlled. And she comes here complaining about how her husband always puts his foot down, et cetera, et cetera! She's obviously not hit hard enough to get the message!" Mother was one of those women who feel they deserved their beatings when they received them, even if they were over nothing.

"Mother, you get beaten," I said before thinking. Suddenly I felt a tingling against my face where Mother slapped me for not holding my tongue.

"What was that, young man?" she demanded, her dark eyes narrowing. I saw her wand clenched in her hand. I shook my head.

"Nothing, ma'am."

"Better be. Get your arse downstairs," she commanded. I nodded and sauntered downstairs to the basement, which was where I slept. Hours later, Father stumbled in, drunk. I heard muffled voices and then things breaking. Soon followed by Mother screaming and then Father's disturbing moans of pleasure I now know the reason behind. Father usually beat Mother because he found something wrong with his dinner or she didn't suck him the right way. My parents had a very active sex life. Though it sounded more like Father came home, ripped her clothes off, and used the Imperius on her to do things I truly do not wish to think of. Then he'd snap her out of it, and beat her with his own fists and a number of spells.

Our family-beating schedule was this: Father beat Mother and occasionally me if Mother wasn't home. Mother beat me to get her frustrations out. It was during these hours I spent reading the books I stole from Father's office and learnt all the curses my father learned far after his own years at Hogwarts.

"Severus, come," Father's baritones came the morning after. I blinked away whatever slumber I managed to adopt and slowly brought myself to my feet to oblige to his order.

"Yes, sir?" I inquired, erasing all notes of sleepy mindlessness one has when first awoken. This was a trick I had mastered by the age of five.

"Get dressed, your lessons will start in exactly five minutes." It was Saturday. Father was an Unspeakable and kept the secrets of the Department of Mysteries very well hidden from everyone except for the Dark Lord. However, despite his commitment to his work, he did get weekends off and did devote his time to educating me. He firmly believed that he had to test the knowledge Mother gave me and squash any old wives' tales she managed to make me believe.

So, I dressed and managed to save enough time to brush my teeth in the sink and loo that was in my room. I rushed my self up to the cold steps to the rest of the room to learn these lessons. Today I was to learn to identify the differences between poisons and other such potions. He placed them all in identical, label-less vials and I had to choose which to imbibe. I spent five minutes eyeing them all and sniffing them. I finally took the one that was not a harmful potion and downed it. It was pepper up potion. He charmed my ears so they would stop steaming and gave me a reluctant smirk telling me of his approval.

"Good, then. Now, you will tell me your knowledge of the theories behind the curses Mother taught you."

"The Serpent Curse will summon a serpent, but only if the one who summons is a true Slytherin. This is because the serpent will only be loyal to those who have the same intentions as it. It does not necessarily mean that the one who summons must be from the house Slytherin, because not everyone who casts this will be from Hogwarts and people's ideals and principals are able to change after their schooling. They must have the want and need to prove something their vindictiveness and loyalty to the master of their convictions whether the master is the rebel of wizarding society or a theory. The word one uses to cast is _serpensortia_," I said. It was the first curse that came to mind. I expected to see a glimmer of appraisal in my father's eyes, but I saw shrewdness mingled with it.

"I do not recall placing the Serpents Curse on the list of things for your mother to teach you," he said quietly. I paused. It must have been a curse in one of the books I stole from Father's office. "Did she teach you this?" His voice was barely above a whisper. This was the tone I would learn to threaten people with when I grew.

"Y-yes. Yes, yes she did," I said, my voice growing more confident after the first confirmation. He continued to eye me suspiciously. He knew I lied, but he smirked.

"You may be a Slytherin after all," he said with satisfaction. I knew then that he was to beat Mother for 'disobeying' him, though he knew that she did no such thing. I had such resentment for her, that I did not care.

"Thank you, sir," I said as I was trained to every time he granted me this compliment. He bristled his slim moustache importantly.

"Tell me of _Adofo_."

"_Adofo_, a curse formed in Egypt, is not different from the Patronus Charm or Crutacious Curse, but instead of thinking happy thoughts to arm oneself against a dementor, one must have the anger and sadism that one has to cast the Crutacious Curse. It brings out the form of one's Patronus and it fights and brings unbearable pain upon the victim."

"_Hamar_."

"The Hammering Jinx is from the Norse formation and will bring excruciating pain to the victim's head as if being walloped about the head with a Hammer. The effect of the blow is depending on the magical strength of the caster. It is better off used after being hit by another curse so the jinx itself will know how much pain to cause upon the victim. It is not a good jinx to start a duel, but a good one to end a duel."

"_Chu'mana._"

"The Snake Maiden Hex is originally from the Red Indian tribe, the Hopi Red Indians, and it goes particularly well with the Serpent's Curse. It can only be thrown by a particularly strong witch or wizard, but mainly witches. Few wizards have been powerful enough to cast this. However, it does require the same state of mind as _serpensortia._ What it does is cast the song of the Snake Maiden calling to her Basilisk and if the caster is strong enough, he or she will be temporarily be possessed by the basilisk's powers to kill by eye contact or petrify by indirect eye contact."

"Very well. That is enough with curses. You shall start on a potion I wish you to learn. Get your cauldron." I obliged and hauled my cauldron from the basement. He refused to go into my basement room unless forced to. He would not lower himself to my status.

"You will be learning to put together a particularly difficult potion of my own creation. It is called the Draught of Thurleah. Thurleah is an English name meaning from Thor's garden. You know enough of Egyptian Magic to know that Thor was the god of storm. This will take exactly twenty seven days to make. I will not tell you what it does. You are to take these ingredients and by the directions you are to figure out what the ingredients do and how they react against or with each other. Here are the ingredients," he waved his wand and the ingredients and a parchment telling what to do appeared on the desk. "And here are the instructions. I shall observe and correct you."

I spent the rest of the day without food or water slaving over this potion. This was something I had grown accustomed to, and it no longer bothered me. Creating a potion my father instructed became my passion and such pesky inconveniences as food and water came secondary to how freshly squeezed my rose water was.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for reading this next chapter. I have up to chapter 7 all nice and written out. I would absolutely LOVE it if you guys could send in a review with constructive criticism or just to tell me that you exist.

Thanks so much .

snappycat

Chapter 2

I'm sitting here, reflecting on my childhood, wondering how Adriana's life was within her own home. Did she wake up in the middle of the night to hear her mother's screaming? Did she ever care to learn any curses? I wonder why our mothers ever put up with the abuse. I know why mine did; she was a masochist and had no self-esteem. But why did Esperanza stay with Antonio? She seemed proud and she had a head firmly on her shoulders.

"What happened to us?" Adriana asks, breaking my thoughts. I look at her; she is still looking at the candle. "I mean… We've known each other so long, how did things end the way they did?" I take a deep breath. She looks up at me, her eyes begging for an answer.

"I think it's just that. We knew each other too well," I say solemnly. She nods.

"And between miscarriages and Death Eaters," she says, looking down. "I just figured that was one of the strengths in our relationship." I give a wry grin. She shifts her glance at me, wrinkling an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on, Adriana. Going through terrible things together would do nothing for us – we're both Slytherins, and you're a Scorpio while I am a Capricorn at that."

"You're acknowledging our astrological similarities, now, also?" I roll my eyes. Using her own logic to elaborate would only get me mockery. I look at her and notice that age actually had appeared on her beautiful face. Stress lines and the smallest of wrinkles were revealing themselves around her eyes and mouth.

"You look tired," I state. She shrugs. I tilt my head and gather her eye contact. "Our problem was that we always knew that somehow we'd wind up back together, so we never put the effort that we really needed into it. Whenever we actually talked was in the middle a battle over who could yell louder and sound more threatening."

"Well, aren't you just chock full of wisdom?" she says, curling her lip ever so slightly.

"You asked a question, I answered it," I reply defensively. She places her elbow on the small table between us and runs her hand through her hair, shaking her head with a mildly amused smile.

"Things really haven't changed, have they?" she asks plainly. "We're still the bickering idiots we ever were." I offer a small grin of assent. We take a moment to look into each other's eyes. She blinks and gives a low chuckle.

"Wooooo," she breathes, looking away. "We are so fucking messed up. How long have we known each other? Twenty-eight years?"

"You're confronting your actual age? Wow, I figured you'd be the same Adriana Rodriguez I knew before," I state sardonically. She sneers at me. A few seconds of silence lingers between us.

"Well," she says, fingering a the rim of a mug of coffee, "now is as good as any other time to actually have a real conversation." I snorted. "What? I'm serious."

"Adriana," I tried to reason. "Us, have a real conversation? With all barriers and walls down? Hell will freeze over before that happens without one of us breaking down or screaming."

"I'm not saying we should have a great debate or anything. Just talk. We've never actually talked to each other, as you said before. Just review over our years and talk. I've had a while to think about this." I pinch the bridge of my nose as she speaks. I highly doubt that this will end pretty. I sigh and shrug in defeat.

"Fine. We knew each other since we were ten. We never actually really acknowledged each other's existence until we were thirteen."

"Well, I could hardly speak English when I was ten, and you just stumbled at the right place at the right time." I nod, remembering that night.

Needless to say, we both went to Hogwarts and were both very happy to leave our homes. The only thing I was going to miss was learning the "useful magic" instead of that "namby-pamby defence rubbish" as my father called it. Adriana and I didn't do much to acknowledge one another. We had short conversations when we had to. We gave each other answers to questions when were in close enough range to ask each other for them. I often helped her with potions, though exasperatedly as I had learned all the potions they were teaching us years before and she had no interest in dead animal pieces, and she helped me through Astronomy, though slightly annoyed because her mother was an acclaimed astronomer and I had no interest in staring at worlds I would never attend. Our grades, however, in Defence Against the Dark Arts rivalled each other and I wouldn't be surprised if we set a school record.

Our first year at Hogwarts was more noteworthy than the two that would follow because that was when Lucius Malfoy was attending his last year. He made sure that we knew the Slytherin guidelines as he was Head Boy and he guided us through the steps of the true Slytherin ways as he did with every other underclassman. He taught us how to go through the Hogwarts black market and how to haggle student prices and persuade those of other houses to fall victim to our tactics. He treated it very much as if the faculty were a dictatorship and he was the rebel running the underground student society. He was admired by many people from all houses.

He did, however, find me quite intriguing when he learned of my extensive knowledge of rare and effective curses and jinxes and potions and made sure to take me under his wing. He hooked me up with all the appropriate Slytherin upperclassmen as my associates and defenders and make my fellow first years my equals and how to make my future underclassmen my minions. He taught me how to be discreet with my hexing people in the halls, as I had quickly made enemies with James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin.

His counterpart, Narcissa Black (by then they were merely partners in keeping the school in check), though not Head Girl (Head Girl then was a girl from Hufflepuff called Ashley Zanderboot, a pushover if there ever was one), was definitely as influential, if not more, as one, taught the same tactics to the Slytherin girls. She taught them how to remain innocently obliging to the upperclassmen and teachers but keep their equals and underclassmen obedient to their own powers. She taught them to continue this until their bodies and self confidence were attractive enough to be flaunted and then use their sexuality to keep everyone, including the upperclassmen, wrapped around their fingers.

With the student politics explained, I will now continue on to my explanation of how Adriana and I allowed each other to be closer acquainted than cheating partners. It was December of our fourth year, one night I woke up one night at a terrible ungodly hour (I refuse to go into detail as to why I woke up) and couldn't find myself to go back to sleep due to my dorm mates dreadful foghorn snoring. So, I stumbled out of bed to go to the common room hoping to find some peace and quiet there. Unfortunately, I was mislead by these intentions and stumbled in on a certain neighbour of mine staring blankly into the fire. She seemed to be almost in shock. With the fire flickering, I could see it glimmering oddly on her face. Mind you, this was very early in the morning and I had just woken up, so I will have you know I wasn't a complete incompetent fool as a child. Her eyes were red and puffy. I realized that she had been crying.

"Trying to blind yourself?" I asked. Adriana quickly wiped away all evidence of her eye's leaking. She looked over at me, blinking a few times (the fire probably effected her vision) and squinted up at me as I approached her to sit in the vacant chair next to her.

"What are you doing up?" she asked.

"I woke up and couldn't fall asleep due to those idiots' dying cow impressions they call sleeping," I said disdainfully. She smiled weakly. "You?" She shook her head.

"It's nothing it's just – I got a letter a little early, that's all." I truly couldn't care less, but she seemed that I needed a further explanation, or I was just an unfortunate victim of her own misfortune. "My father's being shipped off to Azkaban."

"That sucks," I offered. She nodded, wringing her hands in her lap. I saw tears forming in her eyes again. "And my mother's dead." She pulled her knees up to her chest, wiping her eyes off on her knee, trying to conceal them. It's a Slytherin habit of ours – never reveal true tears. I knew she was inwardly begging me to ask why, and being too tired to be completely spiteful, I did so.

"How?"

"My dad killed her," she said. Surprised, but not entirely believing, my eyebrows rose.

"That really does suck, then," I continued. She let out a badly hidden choked sob. Someone's toad hobbled by and she whipped out her wand, muttered _Avada Kedavra_, and the toad went limp. I stared at Adriana. I then discovered that I knew nothing about abuse or cruel magic by simply the hatred, anger, and despair in her eyes. We then took that opportunity to sit in the first of many awkward silences.

That morning, the both of us ready to fall asleep by then, Adriana and I were dressed and left the Common Room as other students started waking up and sifting out to breakfast. Adriana's eyes were swollen and nearly blood shot from lack of sleep and immense amount of crying. Mine were just a little puffy from my lack of sleep. We drank our tea in silence; Professor Dumbledore smiled down at us (we were the first ones there, so he had no one else to smile at) and ate our breakfast. Well, I ate my breakfast; Adriana pushed hers from side to side. Our head of house, Professor Gabriel, came to breakfast and saw Adriana's pale complexion and less than healthy appearance and just me sitting next to her, and confronted us.

"Is everything the matter?" he inquired silkily. The man had a narrow, sharp nose and a square jaw that was lightly covered in rusty coloured hairs. His eyes were a dark umber and they bore into yours when he spoke to you, and they were doing just that as he looked from Adriana and me. He roughly resembled a beagle. I nodded, seeing no problem. Adriana nodded, also. The man eyed us from the corner of his eye, tilting his head, knowing Adriana wasn't quite all right, but headed to his seat at the staff table.

Within about ten or fifteen minutes more people started filing their ways into the Great Hall for their own breakfast. In twenty minutes the Great Hall was almost completely full with the student body. Then the mail came. Two copies of the Daily Prophet dropped before Adriana and me. Adriana, probably just out of habit, unravelled hers and lightly glanced over the front cover. I looked at my own and my eyes drifted over to Adriana, expecting a reaction. Adriana's face froze when she saw the cover: her father being dragged off by Ministry Officials and a smaller one of her mother, father, and her in a family photo.

Adriana looked more frightened than anything, she held it at arms length and it was shaking from her hand's nerves. I saw her eyes dart frantically over the paper. I noticed that a few older students craned their necks over to look at Adriana. The teachers, after reading their own copies, looked over at Adriana. Some of them leaned over to talk to one another.

She took a steady breath and set the paper down. She calmingly smoothed out her skirt. Nearly the entire school watched her. She seemed perfectly calm, actually. I saw a flicker of a relieved smile spread over her features. She then stood up, straightening her skirt again, took her bag, she saw me staring at her like a nincompoop, and she gave me a small smile.

"Lovely breakfast, eh?" she said. "I'm full, frankly, and I'm going to go wait in class." She swung her book bag over her shoulder and left the Great Hall. I looked at her plate and the very little she had placed on it was simply rearranged.

By the beginning of our first class, all of our fellow third year Slytherins knew of Adriana's misfortune. I'm sure the rest of the school knew also, but then again, I didn't care (and still don't) about the rest of the school. Most of our classmates simply stared at her as she walked by, a few of them asked about the ordeal (no words of condolence, though) and a fair few asked what she reckoned her mum did to deserve to snuff it. A few of the idiots from the other houses stopped her to apologize, but she refused to take any of it.

The teachers however were a completely different story. I don't know why, but being the first person to have been told of made me feel obliged to wait for her with Bellatrix Lestrange after class and walk with her, etc. So, I often hung behind class waiting for the teacher to ask the same as the last one asked: are you all right, do you need to go to Madam Pomfrey, you can talk to me if you want were many of the repeated questions. Adriana was very business-like about it and simply shook her head and politely disinclined.

The headmaster even called Adriana to his office during history of magic. She insisted I come with her. I inwardly thanked her. Class with Binns was not a rewarding one. The messenger, some skinny first year Ravenclaw, gave her the password and we walked to his office. She mumbled the password and we stepped on the revolving staircase.

"Miss Rodriguez, please come in. Mr. Snape, did I ask you to come, as well?" he inquired, looking at me with kind eyes.

"I asked him to come with me," she said.

"Ah. I understand. Well, please, sit. Both of you." We did as he asked and he looked at us over his laced gnarly fingers.

"I am sorry to hear about your loss," Dumbledore said gravely. Adriana, though very subtly, rolled her eyes.

"It's nothing –"

"Nothing? Your parents have been taken away from you! It is not _nothing_, in fact, I believe it's everything!" he said with calm outrage.

"Well, you would say that, sir, seeing as you haven't lived in my home," she countered with cool respect.

"Alas, you are right. But surely you are affected by this." Adriana shrugged. "I know a great deal more about the student underground than you may think, Miss Rodriguez. I know it is looked down upon by your fellow Slytherins to show emotion about family loss, considering it is an all too familiar occurrence to the children inside these walls, but I implore that you do not allow these regulations to control your emotions." He looked sternly at her. Adriana rose her eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster, that my emotions are not up to your expectations, but I assure you that the fact my father killed my mother and is being hauled of to Azkaban is not as dramatic to my emotional range as it might be to a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor." There was a moment's long silence between the two of them as they peered into each others' eyes.

"Who taught you Occlumency?" he asked softly.

"My mother," Adriana said, almost in a whisper.

"She was a very good teacher. I must say, even I cannot break through your barriers."

"Thank you kindly, sir." The Headmaster sighed and set his hands down.

"Well, unless there is anything you would like to add, Mr. Snape, I'm sure the two of you can go straight to lunch, seeing as class is nearly over." I shook my head.

"No, Headmaster, I've'n't anything to add."

"Very well. I will see you at lunch, then." The two of us left his office and went down to the history of magic corridor to wait for Bellatrix and our other Slytherin fellows.

"I'm not the only kid here with dead or arrested parents," she complained to me on the way. "Why can't they gawk at them or harass them for a change? How many deaths were mentioned in the obituaries in the past week? I don't see idiots asking them what they did to get hacked."

"Maybe it has something to do with it being your father killing your mother instead of a casualty," I suggested dryly. She simply shrugged it off. We stood at the classroom door, Adriana tapping her foot impatiently and looking at her watch. The bell sounded as a realization flittered past my mind. "Who, do you think, is supposed to care for you now?"

"We can take you in, Adri," Bellatrix offered, stepping out in time to hear my question.

"No, my sister, Lupe, and her husband are coming in from France to take care of me."

"Is she abusive?" I asked. Bellatrix eyed me curiously.

"Oh, God, no. She's little miss goody-good. She hates violence of all kinds and whatnot. Probably why she left home so early."

A/N: End of chappy 2. please oh please oh please review. I will love you forever if you do.

Oh, yes. And if anyone wishes to offer themselves up to be my Beta, that would be fantabulous as well. So, drop me an email at about your Beta-ing wishes.

And don't forget to review.

Thanks so much. Chapter 3 will come up in a week or so, I don't want to overwhelm you, now do I? And I'd like to give myself some time to write out chapter 8 so I stay ahead of myself .

So, let's say if you review I'll assure you that you get chapter 3 within the next century, eh? Eh? Hopefully bribery will work

Thanks a bunch.

snappycat


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"My sister was insane," Adriana says, shaking her head.

"Yes, I've heard," I agree. "And witnessed once or twice, I believe."

"But she wasn't too much older than me, so her patience, or lack thereof, could be blamed on that. She was nineteen when she came up, wasn't she? And I was thirteen. Six years, that's right."

"Speaking of whom," I interject, "is she wandering around here, also. Looking for your hide to wear as her new coat?" Adriana shrugs, but then gives a small laugh.

"It's ridiculous how obsessed she was over fur. 'Oh my God! Look! A dead animal pelt! I must have it! Lord knows I don't have enough of my own hair or my own clothes!'" she mocks. I smirk.

"To recap, we're fucked up because we know each other too well and never talk," I say as I list things on my fingers.

"And had no control over ourselves but too much over each other and moved too fast at the wrong times and too slow at the wrong times," she adds. I repeat them, extending two more fingers.

"Screw couple's therapy, just find the other in an empty café and you've got all your problems listed within an hour!" I exclaim sarcastically. Adriana gives a small chuckle.

"You know, we had a lot of good things, too."

"I know."

"I mean, when I ran away you didn't rat me out and you didn't lecture." I shrug brazenly.

"I can keep secrets," I say easily. She smiles again and waves her wand, making her teacup re-fill.

About one and a half to two years later, Adriana was very sombre most of the time, very curt with people she didn't know and authority figures. However, after her parents dying and getting a life sentence in Azkaban her and I seemed to have gotten on a friendly basis. Though she had a very superior and regal air about her while with them, she also tolerated my Slytherin dorm mates. Not to say that she was constantly surrounded by snotty little hormonal boys as puberty treated her beautifully, she did have her own girl friends. Bellatrix Black was her closest girlfriend, as mentioned before. Her and I were probably the only two people she'd tell anything to. No means to flatter myself, but I do believe she would have told me anything and everything first. Bella was, and is, last time I checked, a tad on the judgemental side. Apparently it's harder to accept from girls, I don't know. Merlin knows I was judgemental. Note the 'was'.

It was summer before our fifth year and Adriana and Lupe were not getting along. At all. Simply saying that would do it extreme justice. Mother often complained about hearing the screaming at night. Why she didn't just cast a silencing charm, I've no idea. I think she just enjoyed complaining about the neighbours.

One day, Lupe or Adriana went too far with something. I am still partially oblivious to what this little spat was about, but that's beside the point. I was outside sitting on my porch reading a book one day, and suddenly I heard something break next door and a large amount of yelling. It was mostly in Spanish, hence my lack of knowledge what it was about, but some bits of English were thrown in. Such as 'fuck' a few times. She was almost sixteen, what do you expect?

"¡Tienes muchas problemas, Lupe! ¡No sé lo que están, pero tienes las! No quiero lo! I'm leaving! ¡ESTOY SALIENDO!" she shouted.

"¡Adriana Usua Rodriguez y Galena! Get back in here! ¡Viene aquí!" Lupe screeched. I watched the exchange with cruel interest. Adriana shouted a few things that made Lupe gasp. "¡CHICA! GET BACK OVER HERE SO I CAN WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT WITH SOAP!"

"¡NO ESTÁS MI MADRE!"

"¡NO ME LLAMAS TÚ!"

"¡T_Ú_ ESTÁ_S_ MI HERMANA! ¡TE LLAMARÁ LO QUE QUIERO!" And at that Adriana took off. Lupe screeched a few things, told her to come back, but Adriana didn't. And she didn't all that night. Lupe had her husband fly around on his broom in search for her, but he couldn't find her. Lupe came to my house even and asked if I knew where Adriana was. My mother looked over at me as I ate my dinner (a sandwich and crackers) and demanded if I knew where Adriana was. I answered no, and Lupe whined for a while about not knowing where Adriana was and how she was only trying to be the best she could and whatnot. Mother consoled her and gave her tea.

"That Spanish girl? Lupa is her name?" Father asked gruffly after Mother showed her out.

"Lupe," Mother corrected. Father backhanded her. Father did not enjoy being corrected.

"What's her problem?" he asked, as if nothing had happened.

"You know that little girl that lived there? She ran away," Mother answered, her eyes on the floor. Her cheek was bright red. Father shook his head.

"Girls these days. Their bloody heads making them think that they can get away with crap. That Christopher bloke ought to smack her around to make sure she knows her place," he said disgruntled. "As a matter of fact, I'll tell him that tomorrow." I almost dared to roll my eyes. Almost. Father was eyeing me suspiciously as I thought of doing so.

"I'm going to go to bed, now," I said, finishing my last cracker and going downstairs.

The next morning I woke up, slightly colder than usually. The window was open. I looked up to it curiously. Why the Hell was that thing open? Unless someone got in or out through the basement, it shouldn't have been open.

"Sorry, cold?" I heard a voice. I nearly jumped out of bed until I recognized the voice. I'm surprised I hadn't realized that Adriana would spend the night in some bushes and then come to my room to either cool off or get Lupe paranoid enough to nearly have a nervy b, she probably had both intentions on mind.

"What the bloody hell are you doing in here?" I demanded in a hushed voice.

"You expect me to live in bushes? What goodies are you brewing down here? It smells like dead cats," she commented, wrinkling her nose at a small cauldron simmering in the corner.

"Oh, that. Ignore it. It's nothing." Actually, Lucius Malfoy had me brewing illegal potions for him at a large price. I had no wish to expose it or my customer. She opened the cupboard I used for my potions ingredients, emptied it, and then removed the back of it and took out the small vials of my stash of illegal stuff. There were the How-To books for Unforgivable Curses (I knew that it was a testy subject for her, so I never asked and she never offered to teach me), the Potions Books with poison recipes or drugs of sorts, ingredients for said Potions. Such to that effect.

"Nothing?" she asked, pulling out the ingredient stash. She arched a slim eyebrow at me. She opened a vial and sniffed it.

"This is the dead cat stench – ugh, it's dreadful," she said in disgust. "What's this stuff for?"

"Well, that is dried lining to mooncalf stomach," I said. She quickly fastened the vial and put it away. "That vial right there with the fishy looking plants are Mandrake roots –"

"Why are those in here? They're not illegal," she interrupted.

"They were easier to put there with everything else that is," I shrugged, sitting up. "So, why did you leave, again?"

"Lupe's being a bitch," she said simply. I nodded. That was what I usually got for Adriana's reasons for being mad at Lupe. Adriana put the potion stuff back, making sure the secret compartment was secure, and sat on my bed as I went into my bathroom to change.

"So, is Bella and your little gang of fellow idiots coming or are we going to them?" she asked. I rolled my eyes in the lavatory, pulling my shirt over my head.

"They're coming here. Mum has to go somewhere, evidently it's extremely important, and my dad's at work."

"The simple pleasures a summer will bring," Adriana said, stretching out her legs.

"So, what about you? Have you already snuck in your house to get some clothes or are you going to go back?"

"Hell no, I'm not going back. I'm probably going to go back to Bella's for the rest of the summer. I'll talk her parents into letting me stay at her house next summer, too, and after 7th year I'll be out and about to make my fortune as a legally grown woman," she said pleasantly. "But, yes, I do need to go back to get my things."

"It's eleven, do you reckon they're at work yet?" I said, looking at my clock.

"Are yours?" I shrugged and took the broom and knocked three times on the ceiling. There were no obscenities following the knocks.

"Nope," I replied, throwing the broom to the side. Adriana nodded and without another word she climbed back out the basement window and went to her house. A while later she returned with all the clothes, shoes, make up, etc she could stuff in her already magically expanded trunk. About two seconds after she came back, I heard a few thuds, curses, and voices as my Slytherin friends, in lack of a better word, landed in the fireplace.

"Honestly, Lestrange, couldn't you be a little more graceful when you decide to jump on me in the fireplace?" Macnair said furiously, dusting himself off as he entered my lair.

"It's not my fault that you were too slow to get out of it!" Rodulphus declared, dusting himself off, as well.

"Lestrange confuse you for Bella again, Macnair?" I asked sardonically. I only received sneers.

"Speaking of Bella, when is she coming?" Adriana asked. Macnair and Lestrange shrugged. As if on cue, Bella's raunchy vocals came along.

"Oy, where is everyone?" she demanded, her feet thundering down into my room. "Aye, there you lot are. No welcoming party or anything? Why am I not surprised?"

"Bella, my great, dear, wonderful, apple of my eye friend," Adriana said, her tone not matching the words of course, as she examined her fingernails.

"What do you want?" Bella asked.

"To go home with you. I'm tired of Lupe and I've decided to run away. I've got my things," she said needlessly, waving a careless hand to her luggage. Bellatrix nodded.

"I see. What's in it for me?"

"Uhm… your limbs you would otherwise not have if you say no," Adriana replied cheerily.

"Fair enough. I don't see why not."

That's pretty much what the day consisted of. Insults, sarcasm, small tiffs of arguments that were quickly subsided, and my earning of profits as my dear friends bought illegal drugs off of me. I believe that Macnair may have actually used some of it when I went upstairs to fetch myself something to drink – the room smelled awfully suspicious. A twenty-year-old Lucius Malfoy even stopped by to pick up his goods.

"Severus, I'm here and I've got money," he said when he Apparated in my basement.

"I can tell," I said, acknowledging his presence on the once empty spot of floor. I stood up and rummaged through my stash and found the vial Lucius kept in demand. He handed me my gold, I handed him the vial.

"So, what are you and your little friends up to?" he inquired silkily.

"Absolutely nothing, as far as I can tell," I answered.

"Well, well, well," Lucius said, taking steps closer to Adriana and Bella. "My, have you grown." Bella smiled self-flatteringly. "And Bellatrix Black, good to see you." Her smile dropped. Adriana gave Lucius the same smug grin he was giving her. I rolled my eyes. Adriana confessed to me ages and ages ago that she had a small crush on Lucius. Of course, half of the school population did as well.

"It's wonderful to see you, Lucius, as always," Adriana said. Lucius flashed her a charismatic smile and brought her hand to his lips.

"I hope to get to know you much better as time progresses," he said. Adriana smiled.

"Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if time progressed a little quicker. I'm going to stay at Bella's for a while and if I remember correctly, you live near there."

"I eagerly await our visits, then." And at that, he Disapparated. Adriana gave a ridiculous little lovesick sigh and sunk to the floor.

"I'll never wash my hand again…" she said, holding it close to her face. Bella rolled her eyes furiously. As much as she would deny it, Bella too had a thing for Lucius.

Later that night, when everyone was gone and my parents were back, I was sitting in my room reading a book. I heard voices upstairs and decided to listen in. Someone had come over and my parents did not sound happy. Suddenly, Father came thundering downstairs and kicked my door open. I shot up to demand what the bloody hell he was doing.

"Where are they!" he demanded.

"What?"

"WHERE ARE THEY! The drugs, boy! I know you're dealing drugs!" I blinked. How did he find this out?

"What – I'm not dealing any drugs," I said stupidly.

"Don't lie to me! _Crucio!_" I felt seering pain all over me and after what felt like an era it was lifted. I panted and my palms sweated.

"Where are the drugs?" he hissed. I looked up at him, furious loathing burning in my eyes.

"I am not hiding any drugs," I lied, every word quivering dangerously. I was very close to returning the curse.

"_Imperio!_" I suddenly lost a feeling of myself. A cruel voice in the back of my mind was telling me to show him the drugs. I hesitantly stepped forward. Eventually I showed him the stash. I have very little memory of what else happened that night. I now have a scar along my hairline where my head collided with something to remind me, though.


End file.
